Minute feed apparatus



-April 26, 1932.

I* C. W. SIRCH MINUTE FEED APPARATUS Fild oct. 5, 1928 ummm!! y' Patented 26,' 193.2

PATENT OFFICE emma w. smcn, or Los mamas, cnmonm.

mura rm Arrm'rus Application area october a, 192s. serial No. 310,152.

This invention relates to apparatus used for introducing small quantities of a sub.v stance, for example, a chemicalV substance:`

into a pipe-line or vessel containing a mate'- rial or substance to which the chemical substance, is to be added. Such apparatus is use- -ul for chlorinating water or for other purposes which can be effected by the addltion of a minute quantity of a substancgJ to a larger quantity of fluid being treated. v

While features of the invention are applicable to eect the addition of minute quantities of a chemical substance to a vessel or reservoir, in the present specication I have described the invention as applied to a pipe line thrgugh which a fluid or liquid passes.

The general object of the invention is to provide simple means which will be reliable v in operation, for effecting the introduction 2o reservoir or pipe-line.

According to the invention I provide a. container for the chemical substance in which. fluid or liquid gradually accumulates thereby stance which in this way is caused to advance through a minute passage into the reservoir or pipe-line to which the substance must be supplied. v

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a construction which avoids the use of a needle valve .having a minute passage for the reason that such valves tend to clog up with sediment. Accordingly one of my objects is to provide means for presenting a minute passage which can be readily regulated and which can be operated so as to enable it to be readily flushed and cleared of sediment. v y

A further object of the invention is to provide means for producing a minute passage for the chemical substance which can be set accurately to pass a desired amount of the chemical substance and to provide an independent means for completely Lshutting off the flow through the minute passage at will.

Further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter. v

The invention consists in the novel parts and combination of parts to be described hereof minute quantities of a substance into a causing a displacement of the chemical subinafter, all of which contribute to produce an efficient minute feed apparatus.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following specication, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings, Fig. lis a diagrammatic view showing` a short portion of a pipe-line and illustrating apparatus embodying my invention connected therewith; the container of the apparatus is shown in vertical section 4 while the piping is shown 'in side elevation.

This view illustrates the apparatus as applied to a pipe-line carrying the liquid.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section upon an enlarged Y scale passing through'the outlet connection from the container that delivers the chemical substance, certain parts being broken away. This view is upon a larger scale than Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken about on 7a' the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing an adaptation of the apparatus for supplying small quantities of a gaseous substance to a pipe-line.

In practicing my invention I provide a container'for the substance which is to be supplied in small quantities to a vessel or pipeline. This containerl vis in communication with another container which may be merely gg a chamber in the same container that houses the chemical substance.` I providevfor the gradual accumulation of'liquid in the container thereby causing a reduction of volume in the, container that results in. advancing a5 minute quantities of the chemical substance 1irom the container into the vessel or pipe- The container is preferably constructed without the use of fiexible dlaphragms, as these eventually wear out and must be replaced. In my container all of the Walls that retain the -chemical substance are preferably rigid and fixed walls. This, however, is not essential in the general practice of the invention. y

Where the Yapparatus iis applied to a pipeline, I utilize the difference in pressure at two points on the pipe-line to effect the gradual accumulation of the liquid or fluid in the con-` 10 tainer, Icausing a gradual feeding of the chemical substance into the pipe-line.

In Fig. 1, I illustrate the apparatus constructed to supply small quantities of a liquid i to apipe-line, and in th1s view 1 represents the p1pe-line carr ing a liquid, for example, water, that is to e supplied with a chemical, for example, chlorine. In order to accomplish this, I provide a container 2 for the chemical substance 3. This container 2 communicates with another container 4 and these two containers 2 and 4 are preferably formed as chambers in the same casing 5, the said chambers or containers being separated by partition wall 6 extending up from the bottom 7 of the container, but leaving a space between its upper edge and the upper head 8 of the container so that the two chambers 2 and 4 communicate with each other over the wall 6.

In addition to this I provide a duct or pipeconnection 9 leading from the pipe-line 1 at a point 10 which is upstream with respect to the direction of flow of the liquid as indicated j by the arrow. This pipe-connection 9 may include a valve 11 and terminates in a down pipe 12 passing down through the head 8 with its mouth 13 at a depressed point in the chamber 4.

Through the bottom 7 I provide an outlet connection 14 which is a delivery connection to connect the chamber or container 2 with the pipe-line 1 at a point 15 which is downstream with respect to the point 10 and this connection 14 includes a bleeder connection 16 which is constructed so as to be capable of nice regulation to produce a minute outlet for the iquid 3.

In order to avoid the use of a needle valve or similar valve to present a minute outlet, I prefer to employ a piece of flexible hose 17. The bleeder connection 16 is in the form of a tubular body 18 through which the flexible hose 17 extends. The end of this hose has a liquid-tight connection 19 to a pipe 2() that forms a part of the connection 14 and which is attached through the bottom 7 of the container. The bleeder connection 16 is constructed so as `to enable this hose to be pinched (see Figs. 2 and 3) thereby forming a minute passage 21 through the hose. In addition to this I rovide means which can be operated indepen ently of the bleeder opening 21 for completelyr closing olf the flow through the Y. hose at w1ll. This enables the bleeder opento be set to deliver a 'ven quantit of the -liquid as may be desire1 and it ena les the p liquid to be completely shut oil' when desired without disturbing the regulated position for 60.

the parts of the apparatus that determine the area for ow through the bleeder opening. In order to accomplish this in the present instance, I provide the tubular body or housing l Y 1 8 with a pinch block `22 mounted to move up orf down in a guide chamber 23 on the upper side of the housing 18 and capable of being forced downward adjustable by means of an adjusting screw 24 with a hand wheel 25 at its upper end. This block 22 o erates to pinch the Wall of the hose against tlie bottom of the housing 18.

I lprefer, however, to construct the bottom of t e housing at this point with a movable section or jaw 26 supported on a pivot pin 27 at one side ofthe housing and supported at the other side by a link 28 having a lever 29 pivotally attached at 30 to its upper end. This lever 29 has a cam head 31 that rests on a tongue 32 projecting out from the housing on thls side. This construction is fully illustrated in Fig. 3. By rotating the lever 29 toward the left, the cam releases the link 28 and the head can then be pulled away from the tongue 32 so as to permit the jaw 26 to drop down. This will permit the hose to open wider at this -point and facilitates' the flushing of the hose to clear away any sediment that might accumulate in the hose under the pinch block. The pinch block may be guided onone side by means of a guide groove 33 cooperatin with a pin 34 that projects in from the si e of the guide chamber 33.

The independent means :for shutting oli the flow may be conveniently mounted in the housing 18 and preferably consists of a lever control device similar to the lever 29 and its associated parts, illustrated in Fig. 3. In other words the construction for this purpose is largely a duplication of that illustrated in Fig. 3 and inc uding an adjusting screw 35 normally :screwed up to an elevated position so that the block 36 does not normally pinch the hose. The block 36, however, cooperates with a bottom jaw 37 similar to the jaw 26 and similarly mounted, and also provided with a controlling lever 38 with a cam head 39 Cooperating with a tongue 40 similar to the tongue 32.

The liquid-tight'connection 19 may include a conical bushing 41 that is forced into the end of the pipe byy engaging at its butt end, a shoulder 42 in the connection 19, which is belled out or enlarged to receive the bushing and provided with threads 43 for connect- A ing it to the end of the pipe 20.

At the point 15 a construction similar to that illustrated at the connection 19 is provided (see Fig. 1). In order to indicate the level of the liquid 3 the side of the container may be provided with a sight gauge 44.

The interior of the upper portion of the 'casing 5 constitutes an air chamber 45. In

will adually rise. The rising level of the 'liqui 46 prevents the formation of a partial v chamber 4 and force it over 1nto the upper end of the chamber 2 thereby gradually increasing pressure on the upper surface of the chemical 3 which will also tend to cause a gradual outflow of the chemical through the connection 14.

When it is desired to lill the chamber or container 2 with the chemical liquid 3, this can be accomplished by opening a stop cock 48 at the bottom of the chamber 4, after closing the valve at 11. At the same time a'valve 49 should be open in the inlet pipe 50 to the side wall of the chamber 2. AS the level of the liquid in the chamber 4 falls, apartial vacuum will be developed inthe air chamber that will permit the chemical to How into the chamber 2.

A through a pipe o r main. In this view, 51 indicates a main through which a fluid orliquid ows; I provide a container 52 including a container or chamber 53 for the gas,sepa rated from a chamber 54 within thecontainer 52 by a partition wall 55. The lower end of this partition wall 55 extends below'the level of a bath '56 of liquid in the bottom-l of the container. If the current iowing in the main 51 is a gas, then in the operation of the apparatuspthe chamber 54V operates as an accumultor in which quantities of thegas from the main 51 are collected. For this purpose I provide a connectionV 57 from the main 51v on the upstream side and this connection 57 includes a valve 58 and a down pipe 59, the mouth of whichl is below the level ofthe bath 56.

The chamber 53 is connected through pipe connections 60 and 61 with the main 51 at a point, 62,-which is down-stream. with respect to the directionof iow of the gas in the main, indicated by the arrow.' In the pipeconnection 61 I include a bleeder connection 63 which would have substantially the-same construction as the device illustrated in Figures2and3. v As lthe gas accumulates in the chamber 54 it causes a depression of the level 64 of the bath 5.6, thereby causing an elevation of the level 65 of this bath in the chamber-53 which carries the gas which is to be supplied to the main 51. In this way small quantities of the gas inthe chamber 53 are gradually delivered into the main 51 past the bleeder connection 63.

The chamber 54 may be provided with a vent cock 66 in its uper head which opens communication from t e interior ofthe chamber to the atmos here.

The gas for t e chamber 53 may be supplied frorn a reservoir 67 carrying as under low pressure and connected throng a valve 68 to a T 69'that connects the pipe connections 60 and I61.v By closing the valve 70 that forms a part of the bleeder connection, the valve 68, when opened, will permit to How through into the chamber 53. is will cause a depression of the level 65 as the gas accumulates in the chamber 53. In the operation of the apparatus it will be evident that the water bath 56 operates as a piston in the two-chambers 53 and 54.

The apparatus illustrated in Figure 4 can .also be used for delivering small quantities of a gas into a pipeline in which a liquid is flowing'. When used in this way,'the bath 56 collects small uantities of the liquid from the main, there ycausing gradual elevation of the levels 64 and 65 and consequently gradual displacement of the gas in the `chamber 53, which gas will escape through the Ableeder connection 63 into the main. In this case, the bottom o'f the container 52 must be provided with a drain-cock 71 to enable the bail or liquid 56 to be drained off when desir If the'diference in pressure at the points 10 and 15 is insuliicient to produce a movement of the substance 3 from its reservoir into a pipe 1, I may provide special means for facilitating this action. This means may consist of a Pitot tube 9a which projects into the pipe 1 at the point 10 and connectsv withV the pipe 9. This tube 9a has asmall opening 9b on its upstream side'.

It is understood that the embodiment of the invention described herein is only one of themany embodiments this invention may take, and I do not Wish to be limited in the practice of the invention, nor in the claim,

to the particular embodiment set forth.

What I claimis: In an apparatus for introducing small quantities of a chemical substance into a pipev line conductlng a fluid, the combination of a container having a pipe-connection connected to the pipe-line, a container for the chemical substance communicating with the first named container and having a duct including a flexible tube connected to the pipe-line at a point beyond the first named'connection with respect to the direction of flow of the fluid, adjustable means for pinching the flexible tube to produce a minute passage therein for the chemical substance to pass toward the pipeline, said iirst named container operating to accumulate fluid gradually therein from the pipeline eea thereby gradually diepleee the chemieal substance from its container and advance minute quantities of the same into the pipe-line.

Slgned at Los Angeles, Calif., this 21st day of September, 1928. i

CHARLES W. SIRCH. 

